Prevalence of early childhood caries in a selected district in Sri Lanka
<p><strong>Introduction:</strong> Early childhood caries is a widely recognised health problem in many countries, even though it is a very much neglected problem in Sri Lanka.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Objective:</strong> The objective of this study...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Book |
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College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka,
2004-12-01T00:00:00Z.
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| Summary: | <p><strong>Introduction:</strong> Early childhood caries is a widely recognised health problem in many countries, even though it is a very much neglected problem in Sri Lanka.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Objective:</strong> The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and severity of early childhood caries among chil11ren be low five years in the Kalutara district in Sri Lanka.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Methodology:</strong> This study was carried out using the latest diagnostic criteria developed by the National Institute of Dental Cranio- Facial Research, USA. A cross sectional descriptive design was adapted to determine the prevalence of early childhood caries.</p><p> </p><p>A total of 830 children below five years participated in the study. A total of 20 clusters was selected by multistage stratified random sampling techniques. A cluster was a Public Health Midwife area, and a minimum of 40 children from each selected PHM area participated in the study.</p><p> </p><p>All data collection was carried out by the Principal Investigator, asisted by a recorder. Clinical examination of the teeth of the children was carried out by the Principal Investigator.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The prevalence of early childhood caries among children below five years was 63%. The prevalence rose sharply after one year from 23.3% to 76.l% during .the fifth year. The severity of the disease was found to be high, with the severe component of early childhood caries being high up to three years.</p><p> </p><p>The mean dmft for children below five years was 4.65. A large proponion of the decay was untreated. A large proponion of caries was non-cavitated, thereby the need for caries arresting care is high.</p><p> </p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Early Childhood Caries should be recognised as a priority health problem in Sri Lanka. |
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| Item Description: | 1391-3174 2579-1451 10.4038/jccpsl.v9i1.8276 |